Citing earlier precedent, the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission denied Ingleside Baptist Church Student Ministries’ request for a new, two-sided digital billboard on its property at 863 Wimbish Road near the corner of Riverside Drive.
Until February of this year, Lamar Advertising had a digital billboard on that site through a contract that predated the church’s ownership. Lamar removed it in February after failing to reach a new contract with Ingleside which was seeking to increase revenue.
Monday, the church proposed a new 672-square-foot, double-sided sign through BeSeen Outdoor.
During the administrative meeting, P&Z Vice Chair Tim Jones explained that P&Z amended its code in 2011 when they were bombarded with billboard applications “just stacked on top of each other” particularly along Riverside Drive and Eisenhower Parkway.
“We issued a moratorium on billboards and rewrote the code and tried to make it more aesthetic and not so crowded,” Jones said.
The current code restricts multiple message or digital billboards within a 5,000-foot radius of other digital billboards or less than 200 feet from residentially-zoned property.
A digital billboard already exists within that radius across Interstate 75 off Sheraton Drive but ironically, that other sign had to secure a P&Z variance from the old Lamar billboard.
Ingleside Baptist’s Chief Financial Officer Tim Newberry said when Lamar’s contract expired in 2022, it automatically renewed year to year.
Earlier this year, the church sent notice they wanted to terminate Lamar’s lease to renegotiate, but they did not come to terms.
Lamar then applied to convert its static billboard to digital down the street in the Riverside Masonic Temple’s lot at 2936 Riverside Drive.
Jones was not willing to grant the church’s application and Keshia Stafford agreed, especially since P&Z denied Lamar’s variance application in April.
Because of that denial, Lamar’s attorney Warren Tillery asked commissioners to reject Ingleside’s current proposal at Monday’s hearing.
Kathryn Willis, an attorney representing the church, urged P&Z not to focus on the lease dispute but to consider that the site successfully housed a billboard for 19 years and is an excellent location for visibility on the interstate and Riverside Drive.
“This is exactly where you would expect to see commercial properties and outdoor advertising,” Willis said.
Before voting against Ingleside’s application, Stafford recommended the church consider a static billboard, which would be permitted under the regulations.
By denying the application, Stafford said P&Z is striving for cohesiveness and consistency in their decisions.
“So that way when things come up, we can go back and actually show where we used a rule and we’re adhering to that ourselves. We’re not here to be judge and jury, just here to enforce the code,” Stafford said.
Other agenda items
- 2521 Vineville Ave. — P&Z approved a certificate of appropriateness for replacing porch columns with a mixture of wooden replicas for the front five columns that are most visible and Endura-Stone columns of the same design elsewhere.
- 6344 Zebulon Road — J. Franklin Auto Sales deferred until the July 14 meeting for its conditional use application to double the amount of used cars allowed on its lot from 20 to 40.
- 265 Orange St. — P&Z approved a certificate of appropriateness to add beveled glass panels to the front door and transom in this historic district home.
- 4901 Harrison Road — P&Z approved Goldstar Medical Services’ in-patient drug and alcohol detoxification treatment facility in the former home of the Agape House of Middle Georgia personal care home.
Housing study input
The Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission invites the public to participate in its 2050 Housing Assessment and Forecast Study.
“A critical component of the study is to involve community members throughout the housing study’s process. We want to hear from you!” the announcement states.
P&Z commissioned RKG Associates to explore housing conditions in Macon and challenges people face when searching for a place to live.
Tuesday, June 24, at 5:30 p.m., P&Z will hold the first virtual community engagement meeting online.
Participants must register for the hour-long meeting by visiting the link at P&Z’s website, mbpz.org.
— Civic Journalism Senior Fellow Liz Fabian covers Macon-Bibb County government entities for The Macon Newsroom and can be contacted at [email protected] or 478-301-2976.
